Competition in the Mobile Application Development Industry
Mobile Application Developer and Companies Compete for Mobile Application Superiority
The Mobile Application Industry has seen tremendous growth since the Apple iPhone hit the market in 2007 and mobile users were able to experience the benefits of Mobile Applications for the first time. Since then, many other companies such as Google, RIM, Samsung, Microsoft, and Palm have jumped on the mobile application bandwagon and have also started reaping the benefits and advantages of hosting a mobile application marketplace for their users. At the same time, one must wonder when the mobile application industry will start leveling out due to the heavy saturation of mobile applications and mobile developers from around the world. Competition is surely expected to become intense as companies battle each other for a heavy presence in the mobile application industry.
Looking back a few years ago, there was very little competition when it came to mobile application development due to the fact that there were such a small number of mobile application developers in the market and also because there were very few mobile application marketplaces where users could go to access specific mobile applications. A few years later in 2010, the mobile application industry started picking up steam as it took great strides into becoming one of the most dominant industries in the high-tech world.
Companies such as Google, RIM, Microsoft, and Palm started investing heavily in mobile application development and also their own mobile application marketplaces where users could go to access mobile applications. Although a majority of these companies have yet to reach the success, demand and attention that Apple’s iPhone Mobile Application Marketplace has received, they certainly are heading in the right direction as demand for mobile applications is expected to rise each year.
Apple’s main competition in the mobile application market today is from Android Mobile Application Marketplace; and in 2011 mobile application developers are predicting that Microsoft Windows will also start competing with these two leaders in the mobile application industry. With such competition to capture a strong presence in the mobile industry, companies are starting to invest large amounts of money into advertising and marketing of their mobile application marketplaces. At the same time, with more mobile device users growing every year, there is enough demand and need for these mobile application marketplaces.
One must remember that as history has shown thru the dotcom boom, what goes up will eventually come back to the ground and one has to wonder how long the mobile application industry will continue rising until it finally reaches a point where it cannot grow anymore. Competition is certainly expected to pick up in the coming years and there will be a tight race for mobile application superiority within the mobile application industry. Companies such as Apple and Google have benefited tremendously in the past with their Mobile Application Marketplaces but until they find a way to differentiate themselves, they will need to constantly keep an eye in their rear view mirror for companies such as Windows (Phone 7), RIM (Blackberry), and Palm who will most certainly continue to push for more market share in the mobile application industry.